Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 26-29
Meditation Verses: 29:5-9
Thought
Ahaz thought he was defeated because the gods of Damascus were stronger than the Lord, so he shut down the worship of God in His temple and set up idols and turned the people to greater faithlessness. When he came to the throne, Hezekiah understood why they were suffering and weak and defeated: It was because they had forsaken the Lord in the days of their fathers. Somehow he understood that they were weak as a nation because they weren't serving the Lord and He was angry with them. He had sense enough to turn the people back to the Lord and restore the worship of God at His temple. He understood that serving the Lord faithfully would make them great, but forsaking the Lord would turn Him against them.
Application
There are people all over this country who serve and worship the Lord, but there are more who do not know Him or care to listen to Him. Our country is a mass of confusion. Are we great because of the Lord or in spite of Him? There were empires long before us that rose to power without worshiping the Lord, so it's not like only those nations that worship the Lord are made great. So how do we discern the difference? Especially when our nation is at best lukewarm toward the Lord? We always need a call to greater devotion and dedication, and when there is a massive return to the Lord, then we know the Lord is willing to make us great. But if there remains an apathy, we're clearly not turning back to Him and we shouldn't be surprised when things go badly for us as a nation. Same goes for me as an individual. I need to continually grow in devotion so that I can know for sure that any blessing is because of the Lord.